AAR announces extension and expansion of Alaska Airlines MRO relationship, expected facility expansion in Oklahoma City

The agreement is expected to bolster AAR’s workforce development efforts, benefiting both companies, the industry, and the Oklahoma labor market.

Wood Dale, Illinois -- AAR CORP. (NYSE: AIR), a leading provider of aviation services to commercial and government operators, MROs, and OEMs announced today it has signed an agreement to extend the Company’s existing airframe MRO services with Alaska Airlines through 2030 and expand its heavy maintenance partnership.

AAR has committed to growing its dedicated airframe narrowbody capacity to provide Alaska Airlines with a minimum of six lines of maintenance support. To support this, AAR plans to add a new three-bay hangar adjacent to its existing seven-bay facility at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, pending final approval by the Oklahoma City Airport Trust.

The proposed new hangar will provide AAR an additional 85,000 square feet of MRO space to accommodate all 737 variants, including the 737-10. The project is anticipated to be funded by a grant from the State of Oklahoma, as well as rent concessions over time from Will Rogers World Airport.

The facility expansion is projected to create more than 200 additional careers at AAR in Oklahoma City, which the Company expects to fill through its robust workforce development initiatives.

“AAR has supported Alaska Airlines for more than 20 years, and we are eager to continue deepening our partnership with AAR,” said Don Wright, VP Maintenance and Engineering of Alaska Airlines. “AAR’s facility expansion aligns with our strategic MRO initiatives related to our growing fleet of all Boeing 737 variants.”

“Alaska Airlines is our longest-tenured Airframe MRO customer. We are exceptionally proud of our long history together,” said John M. Holmes, Chairman, President and CEO of AAR. “Like the expansion we announced in Miami this summer, our planned Oklahoma facility expansion will create opportunities to enhance our positive impact on the community by creating additional careers in aviation. We are thankful for the support of partners like Oklahoma City Airport Trust that help make this possible.”